After our wonderful family vacation in France, it’s business as usual here in Indiana and we’re busy getting the factory ready for Fall & Holiday. Aside from all the wonderful goings-on and delicious new scents in the works at the office, I have been indulging in some of my favorite pastimes: going for a walk in the neighborhood, gardening and, recently, teaching the kids the importance of living green.

Since Linnea’s Lights is an environmentally mindful company, I felt it an important lesson to imprint on those precious young minds. Last night, we picked all of our bountiful tomatoes, summer squash and cucumbers from our home garden. We had the most wonderful salad with heirloom tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil from the garden with a drizzle of olive oil from our to trip to Mausanne les Alpilles and a sprinkling of sea salt from Camargue. It was heavenly!

Lately we’ve also enjoyed shopping at the local farmers market together. It’s a great way to spend some productive quality time together, see our neighbors and shop locally. When we can’t get it from our own garden, we know we’ll find fresh fruits and vegetables there, and the vibrant colors are almost hypnotizing. Nothing beats biting into a juicy piece of watermelon on these hot August days, plus it’s the perfect destination for fresh scent inspiration; it’s all about the multi-tasking, after all!